E-Z prop

ABSTRACT

A workholder for home building and improvement as an all-purpose appliance that eliminates unnecessary nailing and eases the labor required in handling structural components for bracing against gravitational influences. The appliance is affixed to the end, side or face of any piece of lumber used in bracing or propping by striking the self-contained nail. It&#39;s then clamped to the braced piece by hand-pressing it onto any 4-inch (3 1/25″) dimensional lumber. Common applications include: acting as a quickly affixing stabilizer to prop unhinged doors upright or horizontal on saw horses for paint preparation and finishing; allows for quick propping of structural framing by attaching to the studs without having to nail a brace into them; infinite uses as a temporary support appliance for installing any construction related component, sub-assembly or aid in preparation for repair, placement or finishing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to devices whose function it is totemporarily hold construction related components in place forpreparation, finish, assembly and/or installation. At least one of thosecomponents must be 4″ dimensional lumber (I.E. 1×4, 2×4, 4×4, ETC.)

[0002] The workholder is designed for countless bracing functionswithout having to spend as much effort in traditional (temporary)nailing, specifically, however, some primary functions include:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is an object of this invention to minimize the process ofnailing during the installation of temporary props and braces in lumberbased construction, repair remodeling and home-improvement by providinga simple clamping device to securely hold the temporary component, whitesaving labor, time and minimizing structural damage caused by temporarynailing.

[0004] provide a clamping assembly which basically replaces the nail inthe employment of temporary props and braces

[0005] Placing the however, its primary design was to

[0006] Various bracing and propping techniques require nailing,sometimes compromising the structural integrity of the component beingnailed. With the workholder, a single nail is used on one part and theclamping feature used on the other part. The clamping feature may beused on the brace or the component being held, depending on the

[0007] The

[0008] The On the wide portion or bottom of the device, are two{fraction (11/16)} holes, one in the approximate center and anothercentered between the center hole and one corner (providing an offsethole). of the

DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1: A single drawing, depicting the dimensions andconstruction of the EZ Prop workholder. The forward view illustrates thebroad view of the workholder and its two components. The top viewdepicts the overhead view of the workholder to illustrate placement ofthe components, installation and auxiliary bracing holes.

[0010] Photo 1 Depicts the process of door hanging with the workholderto illustrate the manner with which the device is used to support them.

[0011] The EZ-Prop is formed from a flat, 7″ long×1¼ wide, piece of 16gauge galvanized steel. Pressed or formed onto a die, the EZ-Prop isformed into a (squared 90°) u-shape to accommodate 4″ (3¼″ insidedimension) construction dimension lumber with ¼″ inward facing dimplingon the sides of the u-shape, fashioning a clamping feature. The dimplingis more of a gradual inward bending from the corner of the u-shape toapproximate mid-height on each side.

[0012] After forming, the EZ-Prop is detailed with two {fraction(11/64)}″ holes in the wide portion of the device. One hole is centeredand the second is placed on a symmetrical angle, midway between thecenter and one corner of the device.

[0013] Two components are then added; one ⅛″ nylon flange bushing isinserted from the inside of the device and crimped to provide clampingforce for a single 1″ galvanized roofing nail, which is then insertedthrough the bushing from the inside of the device.

[0014] When used, the bracket is affixed (by striking the componentnail) onto any type of lumber (and portion thereof) used to prop,temporarily support or otherwise locate a single 4″×such as used instructural framing, or any other use requiring lateralsupport/stabilization. The second hole exists to accommodate a secondnail, should there exist a need to keep the bracket from spinning on thecenter nail.

[0015] Field of Search:

[0016] A workholder device that that, when affixed between a brace andarticle to be braced by nailing it onto the desired portion of onecomponent and clamping it onto the 4 inch (lumber dimension)characteristic of the other component eliminates most needs fortraditional nailing.

[0017] The workholder is a u-shaped, bracket-like, piece of galvanizedsteel whose two upright portions are bent inward at the middle toprovide a clamping feature to fit 4″ dimensional lumber. There isincluded, a 1-inch roofing nail, held fast through a nylon flangebushing located in the workholder's approximate center.

[0018] The workholder is designed to clamp onto 4″ dimensional lumberafter it has been nailed into the other component for bracing orpropping reducing the need to employ nailing.

What is claimed is: 1- During new construction, interior doors aresometimes staged in the garage for preparation and painting. To savetime in this process, install a scrap 1×4 or 2×4 board, overhead, highenough to nail downward through and into the tops of upright doors,holding them in a vertical position for painting. However, nailingthrough the overhead boards into the tops of the doors is awkward, timeconsuming and would typically take two people. Removal of the doors onceready to install is equally difficult. The workholder solves thisdifficulty very simply. With the overhead board in place, the bottom ofthe door is set on a 2×4 scrap to keep it off the floor and then leanedtoward the installer. The workholder's single nail is struck into theapproximate center of the top of the door, the door is then leaned intoa full upright position, engaging the workholder's clamping feature ontothe overhead board, holding the door firmly in place. The amount of timeis comparatively miniscule to conventional methods of door preparationand painting, it takes only one person and, the workholder's flangebushing not only holds the nail for striking, it keeps the workholderfrom contacting the painted edges of the door, eliminating processrelated flaws. 2- During the framing of wood structures, each wall isnormally framed on the floor in a horizontal position and then raisedand braced for placement with an abutting frame. Normally, the singleframe is easily compromised through raising and braces nailed to it tokeep it in place. The processes of raising and nailing braces unsetsnails and may weaken the structure or cause it to be out of plumb.Holding it in place while nailing braces also takes more cooperation.With the use of the workholder, the bracing of framing can be donequicker, without unnecessary hammering. This would speed the process,lessen the chance of compromising the structural integrity of the frameand save time and labor by eliminating nailing. An offset hole isdrilled into the workholder, should the user require stabilizing it witha second nail. 3- During temporary framing to accomplish repairs orinstall headers, ETC, temporary studs are firmly placed by attaching aworkholder onto the upper or both ends of the stud if there is ahorizontal 2×4 (one can be nailed in place) available on the lower endof the project. The temporary stud is quickly installed by putting itinto the opening at an angle enough to clear insertion. Set the bottomof the stud in place and push the upper end into place, anchoring thestud. If no workholder was used on the bottom of the stud, a singletoe-nail is normally sufficient to hold the stud in place.